The present invention relates to a teaching apparatus and method and, more particularly, to a pre-writing teaching aid and method to assist beginning writers in creating letters and pre-writing strokes.
Helping children develop a strong foundation is an important goal for an educator. It is particularly rewarding to teach younger children since relative learning rates of young children are extraordinary, enabling teachers to watch the children blossom in the learning environment they create.
Children love to play, which is how they learn. By playing with one another, children not only learn valuable concepts, they learn how to socialize and get along with others. A play-based learning activity thus serves as an effective teaching tool. Children who feel safe and successful in their environment naturally enjoy participating and being involved with others. It is important to design an activity so that all children can participate even though they may be participating at different developmental levels. The activity should be designed to methodically and consistently teach the words children need to follow directions. When children know the meaning of words such as top/middle/bottom, big/little, line/curve, my turn/your turn, under/over, start/stop, etc., they can easily understand and follow directions. They can participate and complete tasks with confidence.